(Edited to reflect 49 innocents, not including the monster that did it.)So, not the way I wanted to open this thread (though I never like to think about death anyway). RIP to the 49 killed this morning in Orlando.

Michu Meszaros, the entertainer who portrayed "ALF" in the popular 1980s sitcom, has died, TMZ reports.

He was 76.

Meszaros was reportedly taken to a Los Angeles hospital last week after his longtime manager Dennis Varga discovered him unresponsive in his bathroom. He spent the past week in a coma, according to the gossip site.

The Hungary native had reportedly been battling health problems since suffering a stroke eight years ago.

The actor landed a number of significant roles in his career, including a pair of commercials with late pop king Michael Jackson. He also made a cameo in the 1988 comedy "Big Top Pee-wee."

But his biggest claim to fame was his role in "ALF," a series centering on a wisecracking alien who crash lands on Earth and moves in with the suburban Tanner family.

The character of ALF — which stands for Alien Life Form — was typically a puppet, but Meszaros wore the fuzzy brown costume when they needed action shots. Puppeteer Paul Fusco, meanwhile, provided the voice for the character.

The 2-foot-9 Meszaros, who performed in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus early on in his career, billed himself as the "world's shortest man" in 1990 after becoming an American citizen, according to the Los Angeles Times.